It may be awhile before Grant Joel Hildreth has to begin serving his sentence for forcible sex abuse, but it looks like he may have to spend the interim in the Utah County Jail.

Fourth District Judge David Mortensen issued a no-bail warrant for Hildreth, an American Fork chiropractor who was convicted of sexually abusing a former employee, after he didn't show up for his sentencing hearing on Friday. Had Hildreth shown up, he wouldn't have been sentenced because Adult Probation and Parole requested that the hearing be continued so the agency could have more time to complete a pre-sentencing report.

Carolyn Howard-Morris, Hildreth's defense attorney, had also filed a request for a stay while they await the outcome of an appeal she filed of Hildreth's conviction in March. If the stay is granted, the judge could sentence Hildreth but allow him to remain free until his appeal is finished.

Howard-Morris did not attend Friday's sentencing hearing in American Fork either. Court personnel were unsuccessful in their attempts to reach her by phone.

Prosecutor Alex Ludlow said Hildreth, 45, of Riverton, was supposed to report to APP by March 27, but he did not show up until April 3, which may have been partly responsible for APP's delay in completing Hildreth's pre-sentence report.

"It would seem to indicate that he's not taking this as seriously" as he should, Ludlow said.

Ludlow also said he feels that Hildreth is a potential flight risk.

"I think the state has some concerns based on some of his earlier actions," he said.

Hildreth was convicted in 1992 of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Beaverhead County, Mont. According to news reports, the sexual contact with the teenage girl occurred in 1989, but he was not charged with a crime until about two years later, when the victim's father found a letter she wrote to a friend about the assault.

Hildreth was denied reinstatement of his chiropractic license in Idaho in the mid-1990s because of the conviction, according to Ludlow. He was also investigated for misconduct in Louisiana before moving to Utah, though Ludlow said he did not know the outcome of that investigation.

Ludlow said he plans to ask for prison time for Hildreth. Forcible sex abuse is a second-degree felony that is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

In March, a jury convicted Hildreth on two counts of forcible sex abuse while acquitting him of four others. The charges he was convicted on stemmed from allegations by a former employee that he fondled her while providing treatment for a bladder infection at his American Fork office. The jury found him not guilty of fondling three former patients.

Ludlow said the Utah County Attorney's Office may still seek to prosecute Hildreth on three other counts of forcible sex abuse that were severed from this case. Those counts deal with allegations made by two other patients. Ludlow said his office will wait to see the outcome of Hildreth's sentencing before making a decision on the other potential charges.

Howard-Morris could not be reached for comment.

• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or jduda@heraldextra.com.